Stapling-machine.



I. EPSTEIN.

STAPLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.6,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

WITNESSES:

NVENTOR I. EPSTEIN.

STAPLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. s, 191sv Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEY FFME.

IRVING EPSTEIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STAPLING-MACHINE.

ooaoao.

L7 '0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, IRVING Ersrnm, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stapling- Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a stapling machine which is constructed to feed wire from a wire coil or similar supply, cut the wire into lengths, the wire before being cut, having been bent through the eye of a button, bending the length of wire so cut into a staple over a die, withdrawing the die and then forcing the staple against an anvil so that its ends are turned to clench the staple through material laid on the anvil.

The invention further consists in the construction of the inclosing portion of the machine so that it can be locked, the machine comprising a casing which is adapted to be removed and which carries the wire supply.

The invention is also designed to provide a suitable button-feeding chute which is constructed so that its buttons can be fed successively to be penetrated by the wire before it is cut and then carried by the staple while the staple is being clenched.

The invention further consists in details of construction and in certain arrangement of the parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and finally embodied in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of a machine with the button chute removed and showing the casing in section to disclose the wire coil. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2, 2, in Fig. 1 with the coil shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is a front view of the button chute. Fig. 4: is an enlarged detail of the end of the button chute showing two buttons in position, and Fig. 5 is a section on line 5, 5, in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a section on linefi, in Fig. 2 to show the mechanism for swinging the wire-feeding lever. Fig. 7 is a section on line 7, 7, in Fig. 2. Fig. 8 1s a vlew showing the detail of the cutting and stapling device. Fig. 9 1S Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 6, 1913.

Patented Apr. 14, mil. Serial No. 746,442.

a face view of a die used in cutting the wire, and Fig. 10 is a perspective View showing the bottom end of the wire-cutting and forming slide.

The device comprises a support which has a base 10 which has an inclined portion 11, and while the inclined portion is not essential, I prefer to make this portion inclined so that most of the working parts that operate to make and clench the staple operate at an ncline and partly uncover the anvil, makmg it easier to insert fabric or material through which the staples are to be clenched. The inclined portion 11 is surmounted by a guide 12 in which slides a cutter 13 which is provided at its bottom with grooves 14 to receive a wire 15 which is fed to it by means to be hereinafter described. The cutter is adapted to be slid past a suitable cutterplate, the preferred form being shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the cutter-plate 16 being square and provided with beveled edges 17 which fit into the dove-tailed or beveled guides 18 in the guide 12. The cutter-plate has a hole 19 through which a suitable pin 20 is passed to fasten it against movement, and it has holes 21 arranged eccentrically to the hole 19 so that when the cutter-plate is slid into its groove 18, one of the holes 21 comes in register with an opening 22 in the machine frame through which the wire 15 passes. This provides for four different openings across which the cutter 13 is adapted to pass and shear the wire which has been previously fed, the end of the wire abutting against the wall 23 shown in Fig. 8. These four openings provide for long wear, and a cutter-plate of this type, after having had one opening worn, can be easily removed and slid in after having been turned quarter way around and a new opening is available for cutting purposes.

The guide 13 has a back 23 in front of which and between the side walls of the cutter slides a stapling bar 24-. In rear of the stapling bar and the cutter is a reciprocating rod 25, the mounting of which is shown particularly in Fig. 7, the rod having a bearing or guiding portion 26 with beveled side edges, one of the side edges engaging a gib 27 to hold the rod in place and provide for its easy installation and removal, as will be evident. The gib is held in place by screws 28. The rod 25 is provided with a nose 29 which engages the top edge of the cutter 13, as shown in Fig. 2, so that when the rod descends, the cutter also descends by reason of the nose 29 pressing on its top edge. The stapling bar 24 has a pin 30 which extends into the slots 31 of the wings 32. The movement of the rod 25 is vertical and the movement of the stapling bar and the cutter is inclined so that the end of the nose 29 descending vertically clears the top edge of the cutter at a point where the cutting operation has been accomplished, the cutter having slots 33 in which a pin 34 of the stapling bar moves so that the stapling bar can travel after the cutter has stopped, the pin 34 and the slot 33 also acting to insure the return of the cutter with the stapling bar when the stapling bar is drawn upward by the rod 25. The rod 25 has a cheekpiece 35 which is slotted as at 36, the slot receiving a pin 37 at the rear end of a die 38, the die 38 sliding in the frame of the machine and having its forward end narrowed as at 39 and having a recess 40 therein to receive the eye 41 of a shoe or other button 42. The slot 36 is straight from its bottom upward for a considerable distance and then has a curve to it, the curve being so disposed that it forces the die 39 backward out of the path of travel of the stapling bar 24.

The buttons pass down a chute 43, the chute 43 being removable by reason of its cars 44 being adapted to be engaged by or disengaged from the spring leaves 45. The top edge of the chute has ears 46 which are adapted to be secured by the arms 47 of the bolts48, the bolts being operated by suitable springs 49. In this manner chutes of different sizes can be easily installed or removed when it is desired to use different types of buttons, the chute of course being adapted to fit the kind of button that is used, the chute being a continuation of the outlet 50 of a suitable reservoir 51 which is adapted to feed the buttons successively by suitable apparatus, which is not illustrated herein, which is mounted on the shaft 52, the shaft being given a step-by-step movement by means of the ratchet 53 and the pawl 54,

the pawl 54 being mounted on a slotted lever 55 which is operated by the extension 56 of the rod 25. The particular type of button-feeding means is not illustrated herein, since such feeding devices are old in the art, an example being shown in Patent No. 463,292, issued Nov. 17, 1891.

The support of the side walls in which the bar 25 slides and the front wall in which the stapling and cutting mechanisms are disposed, is provided with a removable casing 57 which is adapted to fit against the open sides of the support to complete the covering of the same, the preferred manner of making the casing removable being by swinging it on a pivotal pin 58 which is shown in Fig. 7 whereby a hinge is provided which shearing the wire .attlie' opening 21 which supports the casing, the curved surface 59 of the side wall and the curved end 60 of the casing permitting the swinging of the casing. The casing can be locked in place by a suitable lock 61. The casing is provided with an inclined stem 62 which acts to hold a suitable wire-supporting fixture, the preferred form offiXture being a roll or spool 63 on which the wire coil 64 is mounted. To feed the wire from the coil, the wire is. passed through a staple 65 and onto a feeding lever 66- which is held in normal position by a spring 67 and has a shoulder 68 onits front end against which a swinging jaw 69 is adapted to force the wire 15 when the lever 66 is operated by the spring 67, but which. slides. over the wire when the lever is given a reverse direction by reason of the spring 7 0 permitting the lever to swing on its pivotal fastening 71. The lever 66" swings on the post .72. Bearing against the lever 66 and adapted to operate it inopposition to the spring 67, is an L-shaped arm 7 3, the portion 74 of which rests against the lever 66, theother portion of the L-shaped arm having its back 75 adapted tobe engaged by a pin 76 secured to a lug 77 on the cutter 13. Then in normal position the L- shaped arm has its face 75 in the path of the descending pin 76, and when the cutter descends, the feeding lever is swung back to take a fresh grip onthe wire, and when the cutter ascends, the wire is fed.

The base 10 is provided with a stand 7 8 on which an anvil 79 is mounted,the anvil 79 being-suitably formed on its top' surface, shown in Fig. 8, so that it is adapted to clench the ends of the staple 80, the-preferred manner of clenching being to provide the anvil with curved recesses 81 which turn the ends of the staple toward each other and. grip them beneath. the material to which the button is to be attached.

The operation of the device is as follows: In order to start the machine a number of buttons are fed by hand into the chute 43,

and they pass down into the end of the chute which is shown in Fig. 4,the chute being led inward so as to bring the bottom button 42 with its eye 41 in the recess 40in the front of the die 39. The rod 25 is forced to descend by any power, either by a foot lever ora connection with machinery, and against the pressure of any return devices, such as a weight or a spring to cause it to assume its normal position. 'The rod 25 when descending carries with it'the cutter 13 by means of the nose 29 pressing on the top of the cutter, and the bottom of the cutter shears the wire 15, which wire has been fed across directly above the die 39,

is in line with the wire, the cutter when continuing itsdescent, forcingthe wire that is cut off down over the end of the die as shown in Fig. 8 so as to form the staple 80.

When the cutter has been traveling down,

the stapling bar 24 has also been descending and the cheek-piece 35 has been descending, and the curved slot 36 now forces the pin 37 back and the die is pulled back from beneath the descending stapling bar 24. Material to which the button is to be attached is held over the anvil 79 and the stapling bar still descending, forces the staple down through the material and against the anvil 79. The staple carries with it the eye 4:1, the. button 42 being enabled to pass out of the chute by reason of the spring 82 which forms the end of the chute, and while it is strong enough to hold the bottom button in place, it is not strong enough to resist the pull on the button caused by the forcing of the staple by the stapling bar. This enables the next succeeding button to come down in place when the parts retreat to their normal position. The cutterplate stops short of the anvil by reason of the nose 29 clearing the top edge of the cutter 13, since the nose 29 descends vertically and the cutter descends on an incline, the pin 34 working in the slot 33 permitting the additional movement of the stapling bar. When this bar 25 is descending to accomplish this movement and the cutter 13 is descending, the pin 76 is also descending with the cut ter, and by forcing the L-shaped arm 73 over to one side on its pivot 83, it swings the lever 66 to permit the gripping lever 69 to be moved along the wire, a return movement of the wire being prevented by the locking lever 84 pivoted at 85 and having the teeth 86 to be forced in engagement with the wire by the spring 87. Then the parts return to their position, the spring 67 is enabled to swing the feeding lever 66 and permits the gripping lever 69 to pull the wire in suflicient quantity to force it across the opening in the guide 12 so that its end engages the surface 23 shown in Fig. 8. The reciprocation of the bar 25 causes the extension 56 to operate the feed of the button supply 51 and a succession of buttons in the chute 43 is insured. The interior slots 88 act to hold and to guide the staple from the time it is formed and its die retreats, until the stapling bar has clenched it against the anvil.

The smooth operation of this device and its economy in manufacture is due, to a great extent, to the direct connection of the main portions of the mechanism to the operating bar 25. In other words, the bar 25 with its slotted cheek-piece, with the nose 29, and with the slotted wings that operate the stapling bar as an integral piece, forms the opcrating means in its descent of the important parts of the mechanism, that is, the cutting, the bending and the stapling device, the only indirectly operated part being the wire-feeding means which is controlled from the cutting die.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A stapling machine comprising a support, a vertically reciprocating rod in the support, a wire feeding means in the support, a wire cutting means in the support, a reciprocating die over which the wire cut ting means is adapted to pass, a stapling means in the support, an anvil. in the path of the stapling means, a nose on the rod arranged to engage the cutting means, wings on the rods engaging the stapling means, a pin on the die, a slotted cheek-piece on the rod, the slot receiving the pin, the movement of the rod actuating the cutting means, the die and the stapling means, and an operative connection between the cutting means and the wire feeding means.

2. A stapling machine comprising a sup port, a vertically reciprocating rod in the support, a wire feeding means in the sup port, a wire cutting means in the support, a reciprocating die over which the wire cutting means is arranged to pass, a stapling means in the support, an anvil in the path of the stapling means, a nose on the rod arranged to engage the cutting means, wings on the rod engaging the stapling means, a pin on the die, a slotted cheek-piece on the rod, the slot receiving the pin, the movement of the rod actuating the cutting means, the die and the stapling means, a spring for actuating the wire feeding means when the cutting means retreats, and an operative connection between the wire cutting means and the feeding means for overcoming the spring when the cutting means advances.

3. A stapling machine comprising a support, a vertically reciprocating rod in the support, the rod having slotted wings, a nose and a cheek-piece, the cheek-piece having a slot therein, a wire cutting means, a stapling means, an anvil in the path of the stapling means, and a die operating in an oblique direction, the stapling means having a pin engaging the slots in the wings, the cutter being engaged by the nose, the die having a pin entering the slot of the cheek-piece, .and a wire feeding means operated from the cutting means and operated so that the wire is fed when the cutting means retreats.

4. A stapling machine comprising a support, a vertically reciprocating rod in the support, the rod having slotted wings, a nose and a cheek-piece projecting therefrom, the cheek-piece having ,a slot therein, a cutter sliding in the support in an oblique direction, a cutter plate alongside of which the cutter passes, the cutter plate being perforated for the passage of a wire, a stapling bar arranged to slide in the cutter, an anvil in the path of the stapling means, the stapling bar having a pin extending in the slots of the Wings, the top of the cutter arranged to be engaged by the nose of, the rod, a die slidable transversely to the path of the cut- 5 ter and having a pin entering the slot of the cheek-piece, a feeding lever having means for clamping the wire when the lever swings forwardly, .a spring for swinging the lever forwardly, and means operated from the 10 cutter for swinging the lever backwardly when the cutter advances.

5. A stapling machine comprising a support, a vertically reciprocating rod in the support, the rod having slotted wings, a

15 nose and a cheek-piece projecting therefrom,

20 being perforated for the passage of a wire,

a stapling liar arranged to slide in the cut ter, an anvil in the path of the stapling bar,

the stapling bar having a pin extending inthe slots of the Wings, the top of the cutter arranged to be engaged by the nose of the rod, a die arrangedto slide transversely to the path of the cutter and havinga pin entering the slot of the cheelepiece, a feeding lever having means for clamping the wire when the lever swings forwardly, a spring IRVING EPSTEIN.

WVitnesses WM. H. GAMFIELD, M. A. JOHNSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner- 0f Patents,

Washington, D. G. r J l 7 

